The online home of the self-published comics & prose anthology, Warrior27, an homage to Britain's early-80s comic magazine, Warrior - along with the various writings, musings, and miscellany of Dan Fleming and Chris Beckett.

Marvel’s New
Universe was about the strangeness, and the heroes, right outside your
door. Unencumbered by a quarter-century
(then) of continuity, with stories taking place in disparate American cities,
it really felt that way. Despite the bad
rap the New Universe has gotten, in retrospect, I love Psi-Force, without
reservation or irony, and this annual, at the end of its first year of
publication, shook up the status quo in a dramatic way, with one of the regular
team members choosing to leave, in order to allow the team’s former enemy,
Thomas Boyd—now on the run from the clandestine organization hunting these
kids, with which he worked to try and capture Psi-Force. The writing is a bit rough, though not
Claremontian-rough, but the story is solid with beautiful art from Mark
Texeira, early in his career. This
story, upending the status quo in the manner it does, feels big and important,
worthy of an oversized annual.

The Flash is my
favorite superhero, and when the title returned, albeit with Wally West rather
than Barry Allen, on the heels of Legends, I was excited. This annual, published after only four issues
of the regular series, takes Wally to Hong Kong, where he looks to learn how to
harness his chi, in order to control Dim Mak, the death touch he exhibited in
the opening of the issue. It’s a fun
story that showcases Flash’s impatience (he’s got superspeed, get it?) as well
as expanding on a major theme that runs through the bulk of the Wally West
run—that of Wally learning how to be a hero, as well as a man, and coming to
terms with the grave responsibility thrust upon him when his Uncle Barry died
in the Crisis. Though they would never return to this aspect
of Wally’s powers, it helps lay the groundwork for much that followed…and it
was damn cool to infuse the Scarlet Speedster with some zen mysticism and
martial arts.

“The End of the
Justice League!” Frustrated at members
unwilling to give their all to the league, Aquaman, as acting chairman and the
only founding member still active full-time, disbands the Justice League. Many of the current roster protest, like
Firestorm and Green Arrow, but very few of them are able to give themselves to
the league full-time. So, it is
settled. Except for Zatanna’s and
Elongated Man’s desire to continue with the league coupled with the surprising
return of J’onn J’onnz, the Martian Manhunter.
With this core, including Aquaman, a new league could be formed from the
ashes, and they set about with that in mind.
Through the rest of this story, this rejuvenated JLA gets a new
headquarters in Detroit and a number of new members, including Vixen, Steel,
Vibe, and Gypsy. It’s JLDetroit,
baby! Like the Psi-Force annual above,
JLA annual #2 shook up the status quo and delivered a story that felt important
and dramatic, worthy of an annual. From
here, Conway & Patton, with Luke McDonnell coming on later as artist, would
chart a brand new course for the Justice League, sans the “big guns” of
Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, et al., and take some chances. There are many who look no this short era of
the league with disdain, but after the Bwa-ha-ha version that would follow,
this is “my Justice League.”

The first comic
book I collected was G.I. Joe. Loved
it. Still love it. Larry Hama’s infusion of grand soap operatic
plotting with complex political machinations and intertwined backstories,
combined with over-the-top villains, similarly colorful heroes, super-secret
bases and weapons, and all-out action made, and makes, for some great
comics. This story, “Hush Job,” is
another important one worthy of an annual.
Snake-Eyes, having infiltrated Cobra disguised as Flint, was discovered
and subdued, and is now being held in Cobra’s consulate building in New York
City. Scarlet and Storm Shadow decide to
go in and rescue him. There are ninjas,
Dr. Mindbender, Baroness, bullets, bombs, and action, all told without
dialogue, as in issue #21. Ron Wagner’s
art is wonderful, detailed and uncluttered, with some great choreography for
the fight scenes. There’s drama and
emotion, as Storm Shadow battles to free his friend while Scarlett is
discovered by the Baroness in the lower levels of the building, and the final
twist, though questionable from a plot standpoint, still works—it’s G.I. Joe,
come on. Add a bunch of extras,
including lengthy summaries of the past year’s cartoon and comic book
adventures, pin-ups from Mike Zeck, and a short story in the back drawn by Zeck
that recounts how a Roman praetor utilized the invention of pizza to defeat the
Gauls, and you have a full comic that was well worth the cover price.

“For the Man Who
Has Everything.” The best single-issue
Superman story ever told, in my opinion.
Mongul has come to Earth to defeat Superman, on the day he celebrates
his birthday, bringing an alien plant, the Black Mercy, as his weapon. Attaching itself to its victim, the Black
Mercy puts the victim into a catatonic state by offering up an alternate
reality where the victim’s greatest wishes come true, offering a virtual reality
the victim does not wish to leave.
Batman, Wonder Woman, and Robin, come to the Fortress of Solitude to
celebrate Kal-El’s birthday, happen upon this and work to save their friend. It does not go well, as Wonder Woman battles
Mongul while Batman & Robin attempt to free Superman from the Black Mercy’s
clutches.

Superman is lost in
a world where Krypton did not blow up, where he had the chance for a family, a
wife and children, and where everything was perfect…almost. It’s an idyllic setting, until rifts start to
show, rifts in the political realities of this Krypton that are revealed due to
Superman’s psyche fighting the alien plant.
He knows this isn’t right, knows he must return to Earth to be the hero
he was born to be. And, in the end,
Kal-El gives up this life, gives up his home, his wife, his kids, and leaves
them to return to his true reality. But,
when he comes to—as the plant jumps to Batman, plunging him into a reality
where his parents were not killed in that dark alley—Superman is left with all
the memories of the family he never had, and the pain he felt at leaving them
behind. He is mad. And he takes it out on Mongul.

Their battle is
mean and destructive and all too human.
And that is what Moore, and Gibbons, brought to this tale, the truest
sense of humanity, and the pain concomitant his parents’ sacrifice, that I’ve
ever seen in a Superman story. Dave
Gibbons, a master comic artist, brings it all to life in a way that accentuates
this humanity, grounding it all with his precise linework. “For the Man Who Has Everything” is a master
class in doing a poignant, engaging, and entertaining, done-in-one comic story
that will make you think and illuminate the characters on the page. This is a great comic that you must read, if you want to call
yourself a real comic fan.